Method, apparatus, and computer readable medium for providing a self-service interface

ABSTRACT

Provided herein are systems, methods and computer readable media for programmatically generating and/or revising promotion offers for a merchant based on one or more merchant self-service indicators. In providing such functionality, the system can be configured to, for example, facilitate registration and verification of merchant identities, determine promotion content and parameters based on merchant self-service indicators, and monitor and analyze promotion offers for merchants with similar merchant self-service indicators. The system may determine the relative successfulness of a promotion offer for a merchant and/or category of merchant. In some embodiments, the system may be further configured to revise the promotion offer programmatically and/or upon receiving the merchant&#39;s approval of the programmatically generated proposed edits to the promotion offer.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No.13/839,226, filed Mar. 15, 2013, which in turn claims priority toProvisional Application No. 61/640,647, filed Apr. 30, 2012, acontinuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 13/839,414, filed Mar. 15,2013, which in turn claims priority to Provisional Application No.61/706,664, filed Sep. 27, 2012, a continuation-in-part of applicationSer. No. 13/833,548, filed Mar. 15, 2013, which in turn claims priorityto Provisional Application No. 61/618,338, filed Mar. 30, 2012, acontinuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 13/922,750, filed Jun. 20,2013, a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 13/913,887, filedJun. 10, 2013, a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No.13/929,253, filed Jun. 27, 2013, and a continuation-in-part ofapplication Ser. No. 13/749,272, filed Jan. 24, 2013, all of which arehereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

FIELD

Embodiments of the invention relate, generally, to providing aninterface to a commerce system and, more particularly, to a method,apparatus, and computer readable medium for providing a merchantself-service interface.

BACKGROUND

Merchants sell goods and services (collectively referred to herein as“products”) to consumers. The merchants can often control the form oftheir product offers, the timing of their product offers, and the priceat which the products will be offered. The merchant may sell products ata brick-and-mortar sales location, a virtual online site, or both.

Discounts have been used as part of some retail strategies. Discounttechniques include providing coupons and rebates to potential consumers,but these techniques have several disadvantages. In this regard, anumber of deficiencies and problems associated with the systems used to,among other things, provide discounts to consumers have been identified.Initial registration and setup to allow a merchant to provide promotionsusing a promotion system is typically a lengthy and involved process.This process may include separate steps by representatives of apromotion and marketing service to verify that a user who wishes tocreate a promotion is an authorized representative of the merchant, andthat promotion offers prepared by the merchant are valid and likely tobe of interest to consumers. The hands-on nature of the promotiongeneration process means that the process is not scalable as the numberof merchants accessing the system increases, since each merchant mustinteract with a staff member of the promotion and marketing service forverification, promotion generation, and various other steps in theprocess. As more and more merchants join the system, more and more staffmembers are required to meet the needs of these merchants in areasonable time frame.

Through applied effort, ingenuity, and innovation, many of theseidentified problems have been solved by developing solutions that areincluded in embodiments of the present invention, many examples of whichare described in detail herein.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In general, embodiments of the present invention provide herein systems,methods and computer readable media for programmatically registering andverifying a merchant, and allowing the merchant to generate and/orrevise promotion offers. In providing such functionality, the system canbe configured to, for example, monitor and analyze various promotionoffers, including current promotion offers and analytics data aboutpromotion-related purchases, that enable the system to determine therelative successfulness of a promotion offer for a merchant and/orcategory of merchant. These promotion offers may be indexed with a setof merchant self-service indicators, such that when a new merchantregisters with the system, the system determines the merchantself-service indicators for the newly added merchant and suggestspromotions associated with those merchant self-service indicators. Upondetermining what has been more successful or is expected to be a moresuccessful promotion offer for the merchant based on the merchantself-service indicators, the system can present the generated promotionoffer to the newly registered merchant for approval and/or make thepromotion offer to consumers programmatically by a promotion andmarketing service located remotely from the merchant device and theconsumer device. In some embodiments, the remotely located promotion andmarketing service may be further configured to revise the promotionoffer programmatically and/or upon receiving the merchant's approval ofthe proposed edits to the promotion offer.

Embodiments may include methods, apparatuses, and computer programproducts for providing a merchant self-service interface. Someembodiments may include a method for providing a merchant self-serviceinterface. The method may include identifying a merchant and providingan interface to the merchant. The interface may provide an interfacecontrol that allows the merchant to generate a promotion. The method mayalso include receiving an indication via the interface of a promotiontype, wherein the promotion type defines at least one of a product or aservice provided by the merchant. The method may further includepresenting the merchant with a promotion template associated with thepromotion type, wherein the promotion template defines at least onepromotion parameter for the promotion, generating the promotion, andpublishing the promotion via a promotion and marketing service.

Some embodiments may include an apparatus for providing a merchantself-service interface. The apparatus may include at least one processorcoupled to a memory, the memory comprising computer executableinstructions that, when executed by the processor, configure theapparatus. The apparatus may be configured to identify a merchant, andto provide an interface to the merchant. The interface may provide aninterface control that allows the merchant to generate a promotion. Theapparatus may be further configured to receive an indication via theinterface of a promotion type, wherein the promotion type defines atleast one of a product or a service provided by the merchant, to presentthe merchant with a promotion template associated with the promotiontype, wherein the promotion template defines at least one promotionparameter for the promotion, to generate the promotion, and to publishthe promotion via a promotion and marketing service.

Some embodiments may include a computer program product includinginstructions for providing a merchant self-service interface. Thecomputer program product may include instructions that, when executed bya processor, configure the processor to identify a merchant and toprovide an interface to the merchant. The interface may provide aninterface control that allows the merchant to generate a promotion. Theinstructions may further configure the processor to receive anindication via the interface of a promotion type, wherein the promotiontype defines at least one of a product or a service provided by themerchant, to present the merchant with a promotion template associatedwith the promotion type, wherein the promotion template defines at leastone promotion parameter for the promotion, to generate the promotion,and to publish the promotion via a promotion and marketing service.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

Having thus described embodiments of the invention in general terms,reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are notnecessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 depicts an example system in accordance with some embodimentsdescribed herein;

FIG. 2 depicts a schematic block diagram of circuitry that can beincluded in a computing device, such as a merchant machine, consumermachine and/or promotion and marketing system, in accordance with someembodiments described herein;

FIG. 3 depicts an illustration of a merchant registration interface inaccordance with some embodiments described herein;

FIGS. 4A-4F depict illustrations of example components of a merchantself-service interface in accordance with some embodiments describedherein; and

FIGS. 5-7 depict flow charts showing exemplary processes for providing amerchant self-service interface in accordance with some embodimentsdescribed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Introduction and Definitions

Some embodiments of the present invention will now be described morefully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in whichsome, but not all embodiments of the inventions are shown. Indeed, theseinventions may be embodied in many different forms and should not beconstrued as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicablelegal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

As used herein, the terms “data,” “content,” “information,” and similarterms may be used interchangeably to refer to data capable of beingtransmitted, received, and/or stored in accordance with embodiments ofthe present invention. Thus, use of any such terms should not be takento limit the spirit and scope of embodiments of the present invention.Further, where a computing device is described herein to receive datafrom another computing device, it will be appreciated that the data maybe received directly from the another computing device or may bereceived indirectly via one or more intermediary computing devices, suchas, for example, one or more servers, relays, routers, network accesspoints, base stations, hosts, and/or the like, sometimes referred toherein as a “network.” Similarly, where a computing device is describedherein to send data to another computing device, it will be appreciatedthat the data may be sent directly to the another computing device ormay be sent indirectly via one or more intermediary computing devices,such as, for example, one or more servers, relays, routers, networkaccess points, base stations, hosts, and/or the like.

As used herein, the term “promotion and marketing service” may include aservice that is accessible via one or more computing devices and isoperable to provide example promotion and/or marketing services onbehalf of one or more providers that are offering one or moreinstruments that are redeemable for goods, services, experiences and/orthe like. In some examples, the promotion and marketing service may takethe form of a redemption authority, a payment processor, a rewardsprovider, an entity in a financial network, a promoter, an agent and/orthe like. As such, the service is, in some example embodiments,configured to present one or more promotions via one or moreimpressions, accept payments for promotions from consumers, issueinstruments upon acceptance of an offer, participate in redemption,generate rewards, provide a point of sale device or service, issuepayments to providers and/or or otherwise participate in the exchange ofgoods, services or experiences for currency, value and/or the like.

As used herein, the terms “provider” and “merchant” may be usedinterchangeably and may include, but are not limited to, a businessowner, consigner, shopkeeper, tradesperson, vendor, operator,entrepreneur, agent, dealer, organization or the like that is in thebusiness of a providing a good, service or experience to a consumer,facilitating the provision of a good, service or experience to aconsumer and/or otherwise operating in the stream of commerce. Oneexample merchant may be a running company that sells attire for use by aperson who runs or participates in athletic activities.

As used herein, the term “promotion” may include, but is not limited to,any type of offered, presented or otherwise indicated reward, discount,coupon, credit, deal, incentive, discount, media or the like that isindicative of a promotional value or the like that upon purchase oracceptance results in the issuance of an instrument that may be usedtoward at least a portion of the purchase of particular goods, servicesand/or experiences defined by the promotion. An example promotion, usingthe aforementioned running company as the example provider, is $25 for$50 toward running shoes. In some examples, the promotion defines anaccepted value (e.g., a cost to purchase the promotion), a promotionalvalue (e.g., the value of the resultant instrument beyond the acceptedvalue), a residual value (e.g., the value upon return or upon expiry ofone or more redemption parameters), one or more redemptions parametersand/or the like. Using the running company promotion as an example, theaccepted value is $25 and the promotional value is $50. In this example,the residual value may be equal to the accepted value.

Overview

As described above, the inventors have identified various problems anddifficulties that occur in providing merchants with the opportunity tocreate and sell promotions. In particular, the process of generating anew promotion requires direct manual intervention at several stages toavoid breaches of security, to ensure a minimum quality level ofpromotions provided by the system, and to provide promotions that are ofinterest to consumers. As a result of these problems and others that mayarise from time to time, delays and inefficiencies may be introducedinto the process of generating a new promotion. Furthermore, increasedlevels of manual oversight increase the man-hours needed to service theneeds of merchants in a timely manner, resulting in increased overheadcosts which may be passed on the merchant or consumers.

Accordingly, to overcome these problems, example embodiments of thepresent invention are shown in order to provide self-servicecapabilities for merchant interactions with a promotion and marketingservice. Such self-service capabilities may offer merchants the abilityto register with the promotion and marketing service, to verify theiridentity, to select various parameters and implementation details for aparticular promotion, to submit the promotion parameters for approval,to receive approval of the parameters of the generated promotion, and topublish the generated promotion to consumers for purchase via thepromotion and marketing service.

The promotion and marketing service may provide these self-servicecapabilities to provide merchants with various levels of control overthe promotion generation process. For example, embodiments may performautomatic verification of merchant identity, detection and determinationof various promotion characteristics based on the merchant identity,determination and suggestion of default promotion parameters forselection by the merchant, determination and suggestion of terms andconditions to the merchant, analysis of promotion statistics to suggestpromotion pricing terms, and verification of promotion parameters priorto publication.

In the context of the present application, the term “merchantself-service indicator” relates to data associated with the merchantthat may be used to identify a set of deal parameters for suggesting adeal to the merchant. For example, the merchant self-service indicatormay be a feature or characteristic of the merchant, such as a the typeof industry of the merchant, the type of products or services sold bythe merchant, the size of the merchant, the location of the merchant,the sales volume of the merchant, reviews and ratings for the merchant,or the like. In some embodiments, the merchant self-service indicatorsare a result of analytics that allow for generation of deals that areideal for the particular merchant's circumstances. For example, themerchant self-service indicators may be used to identify optimal dealsfor the particular merchant based on their exact location (e.g. theparticular city street of the merchant as opposed to a wider range, suchas a zip code), the merchant's exact products and services offered(e.g., pizzerias that only serve deep dish pizza, restaurants thatbecome nightclubs after 11:00 pm), the merchant's price point (e.g.,barbershops that charge more than $20 for a haircut), or the date orseason of the year (e.g., offering ski equipment during the winter, orholiday themed promotions during the holiday season), or the like. Thesemerchant self-service indicators may be used to identify deal parametersthat were used by other merchants that share one or more same or similarmerchant self-service indicators. For example, after initialregistration and verification, the promotion and marketing system mayidentify the merchant self-service indicators associated with the newlyregistered merchant, such as by looking up the merchant in a merchantdatabase or by receiving the merchant self-service indicators directlyfrom the merchant (e.g., by a fillable form). The identified merchantself-service indicators may be cross-referenced with deal offers fromother merchants to identify deal offers that were successful for othermerchants with the same or similar merchant self-service indicators.Successful deal offers for merchants with similar merchant self-servicecharacteristics may be used to generate a suggested promotion for thenewly registered merchant, and the newly registered merchant may confirmthe suggested promotion to offer the promotion to consumers via thepromotion and marketing service. The promotion and marketing service mayalso provide an interface allowing the merchant to edit or otherwisemodify the suggested promotion before confirmation.

The term “promotion content” may be understood to refer to cosmeticdisplay factors that influence how the promotion is displayed toconsumers. For example, promotion content may include an imageassociated with the promotion, a narrative description of the promotionor the merchant, a display template for association with the promotion,or the like. For example, the merchant self-service indicators may beused to identify promotion offers that were generated by merchants withsimilar characteristics to the merchant self-service indicators. Variousother factors may be used to generate the promotion offer, such as thesuccess of the promotion offers generated by the merchants with similarcharacteristics, the product availability of the merchant, and the like.

Different merchants may receive different pricing from the promotionsystem based on different factors. For example, merchants that havehigher sales volume (and thus are more likely to sell promotion offers),or that are perceived as higher quality (and thus are more desirable)may be offered preferable pricing over smaller or lower qualitymerchants. In this regard, the promotion and marketing service mayadjust the pricing of promotion offers based on the merchantself-service characteristics to adjust pricing for the particularmerchant. For example, the price of promotion offers offered to themerchant may be adjusted so that the merchant is guaranteed a positivereturn on their investment, promotion offer prices may be adjusted basedon the size or volume of the merchant, or any other adjustment may bemade to the promotion offer parameters as appropriate for the merchantself-service indicators of the particular merchant. Additionally oralternatively, promotion content, such as promotion narratives, images,or other cosmetic features that are presented to a user in connectionwith the promotion offer, may also be generated using the merchantself-service indicators.

System Architecture

The method, apparatus, and computer program product of the presentinvention may be embodied by any of a variety of devices. For example,the method, apparatus, and computer program product of an exampleembodiment may be embodied by a networked device, such as a server orother network entity, configured to communicate with one or moredevices, such as one or more client devices. Additionally oralternatively, the computing device may include fixed computing devices,such as a personal computer or a computer workstation. Still further, anexample embodiment may be embodied by any of a variety of mobileterminals, such as a portable digital assistant (PDA), mobile telephone,smartphone, laptop computer, tablet computer, or any combination of theaforementioned devices.

In this regard, FIG. 1 discloses an example computing system withinwhich embodiments of the present invention may operate. Salesrepresentatives and merchants may access a promotion and marketingservice 102 via a network 118 (e.g., the Internet, or the like) usingcomputer devices 108A through 108N and 114A through 114N, respectively(e.g., one or more customer devices 108A-108N or one or more merchantdevices 114A-114N). Moreover, the promotion and marketing service 102may comprise a promotional server 104 in communication with apromotional database 106. The promotion and marketing service 102 mayfurther have access to a merchant database 116 storing information abouta plurality of merchants, such as may include but is not necessarilylimited to merchants operating the one or more merchant devices114A-114N. In some embodiments, the promotion and marketing service 102may also communicate with a search engine 110 to list and/or indexpromotions offered by the promotion and marketing service 102. Thepromotion and marketing service 102 may be operable to facilitateself-service operations to allow a merchant to generate a promotion tobe offered to consumers via the promotion and marketing service 102. Inorder to facilitate these self-service operations, the promotion andmarketing service 102 may access, interface with, or communicate with apromotion template system 118, a promotion pricing system 118, a fineprint generation system 122, an editorial content system 123, and/or apoint-of-sale management module 124. It should be readily appreciatedthat also the promotion template system 118, a promotion pricing system118, a fine print generation system 122, an editorial content system123, and/or a point-of-sale management module 124 are depicted asseparate elements in communication with the promotion and marketingservice 102, these systems and modules may also be present within thepromotion and marketing service 102. For example, these systems andmodules may be implemented as one or more applications or circuitryexecuting within or upon the promotional server 104.

The promotion template system 118 may function to identify, generate,suggest, and/or provide access to one or more promotion templates. Thesepromotion templates may define a particular promotion structure to beused for a particular promotion based on various factors, including butnot limited to the particular merchant, the type of product or servicebeing sold, the merchant's location, the date, the season, or the like.The promotion templates may define a grammar that allows for insertionof data relevant to the particular promotion (e.g., the merchant'saddress or contact information). In some embodiments, the promotiontemplates may be identified using past promotion performance data toselect an “optimal” promotion template for a particular merchant, goodor service, or the like. For example, the promotion template system 118may collect analytics on the use of particular terms and templatestructures to generate templates that are more likely to be of interestto consumers. Example operations of a promotion template system 118 aredescribed further in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/922,750, filedJun. 20, 2013, which is herein incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

The promotion pricing system 120 may be employed to determine andsuggest various price terms to be associated with a newly generatedpromotion. For example, the promotion pricing system 120 may identify anoptimal discount level off a retail price that will result in the saleof a particular number of promotions. The promotion pricing system 120may further identify a price term to be used by a promotion andmarketing service to be charged to the merchant for the use of thepromotion and marketing service. Determination of these price terms maybe performed by the promotion pricing system 120 through analysis ofvarious factors, including but not limited to economic indicatorsassociated with the location of the merchant, past performance ofpromotions for the same or a similar location, type of product orservice, or merchant, or the volume of business the merchant has donewith the promotion and marketing service. Example operations of apromotion pricing system 120 are described further in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/913,887, filed Jun. 10, 2013, which is hereinincorporated by reference in its entirety.

The fine print generation system 122 may be employed to determine andsuggest terms and conditions for a newly generated promotion. Theseterms and conditions may relate to so-called “fine print” of thepromotion, which may include, but is not limited to, a quantity ofpromotions, a redemption deadline, a promotion limit per customer, apromotion limit per visit, instructions for redemption, locations forredemption, and the like. In some embodiments, the fine print generationsystem 122 may present the merchant with a set of possible selectionsfor terms and conditions. These selections may be presented in the formof a “Wizard” or “Expert System” which prompts the merchant with aseries of questions to assist with selection of terms and conditions forthe newly generated promotion. Example operations of a fine printgeneration system 122 are described further in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/929,253, filed Jun. 27, 2013, which is herein incorporatedby reference in its entirety.

The editorial content system 123 may be employed to generate and/ormodify promotion content for a promotion. For example, the editorialcontent system 123 may generate or select default content (e.g., adefault title, promotion description, or an image to be associated withthe promotion) for the promotion. In some embodiments, the defaultcontent may be augmented or modified with custom content generated forthe merchant by the editorial content system. In some embodiments, thepromotion content may be generated by asking the merchant one or morequestions (e.g., a “Wizard” content generation system), and customizingthe content based on the answers to the questions provided by themerchant.

The point-of-sale management module 124 may function to enable amerchant to interface with a merchant point-of-sale or inventory systemto facilitate generation of promotions. For example, the point-of-salemanagement module 124 may determine which products or services are beingsold by the merchant to identify appropriate products and services fornewly generated promotions (e.g., suggesting promotions directed toproducts or services of which the merchant has excess inventory, orsuggesting promotions directed to products in which the merchant appearsto specialize). In some embodiments, the point-of-sale management module124 may also interface with a merchant online storefront to performsimilar functions. The point-of-sale management module 124 may also beconfigured to provide transaction data to the promotion and marketingservice for determining the type and value of goods sold. Exampleoperations of a point-of-sale management module 124 are describedfurther in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/839,226, filed Mar. 15,2013, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/839,414, filed Mar. 15,2013, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

The promotional server 104 may be embodied by a computing system, suchas apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 2. As illustrated in FIG. 2, theapparatus 200 may include a processor 202, a memory 204, an input/outputmodule 206, a communications module 208, and a self-service module 210.The apparatus 200 may be configured to execute the operations describedbelow. In some embodiments, the processor 202 (and/or co-processor orany other processing circuitry assisting or otherwise associated withthe processor) may be in communication with the memory 204 via a bus forpassing information among components of the apparatus. The memory 204may be non-transitory and may include, for example, one or more volatileand/or non-volatile memories. In other words, for example, the memorymay be an electronic storage device (e.g., a computer readable storagemedium). The memory 204 may be configured to store information, data,content, applications, instructions, or the like, for enabling theapparatus to carry out various functions in accordance with an exampleembodiment of the present invention.

The processor 202 may be embodied in a number of different ways and may,for example include one or more processing devices configured to performindependently. Additionally or alternatively, the processor may includeone or more processors configured in tandem via a bus to enableindependent execution of instructions, pipelining, and/ormultithreading.

In an example embodiment, the processor 202 may be configured to executeinstructions stored in the memory 204 or otherwise accessible to theprocessor. Alternatively or additionally, the processor may beconfigured to execute hard-coded functionality. As such, whetherconfigured by hardware or software methods, or by a combination thereof,the processor may represent an entity (e.g., physically embodied incircuitry) capable of performing operations according to an embodimentof the present invention while configured accordingly. Alternatively, asanother example, when the processor is embodied as an executor ofsoftware instructions, the instructions may specifically configure theprocessor to perform the algorithms and/or operations described hereinwhen the instructions are executed.

In some embodiments, the apparatus 200 may include an input/outputmodule 206 that may, in turn, be in communication with processor 202 toprovide output to the user and, in some embodiments, to receive anindication of a user input. The input/output module may comprise a userinterface and may include a display and may comprise a web userinterface, a mobile application, a client device, a kiosk, or the like.In some embodiments, the input/output module 206 may also include akeyboard, a mouse, a joystick, a touch screen, touch areas, soft keys, amicrophone, a speaker, or other input/output mechanisms. The processorand/or user interface circuitry comprising the processor may beconfigured to control one or more functions of one or more userinterface elements through computer program instructions (e.g., softwareand/or firmware) stored on a memory accessible to the processor (e.g.,memory 204, and/or the like).

Meanwhile, the communications module 208 may be any means such as adevice or circuitry embodied in either hardware or a combination ofhardware and software that is configured to receive and/or transmit datafrom/to a network and/or any other device or module in communicationwith the apparatus 200. In this regard, the communication interface mayinclude, for example, an antenna (or multiple antennas) and supportinghardware and/or software for enabling communications with a wirelesscommunication network. Additionally or alternatively, the communicationinterface may include the circuitry for interacting with the antenna(s)to cause transmission of signals via the antenna(s) or to handle receiptof signals received via the antenna(s). In some environments, thecommunication interface may additionally or alternatively support wiredcommunication. As such, for example, the communication interface mayinclude a communication modem and/or other hardware/software forsupporting communication via cable, digital subscriber line (DSL),universal serial bus (USB), or other mechanisms.

The self-service module 210 may be operable to facilitate interactionsbetween a merchant and the promotion and marketing service 102 to enablethe merchant to generate and manage promotions offered by the promotionand marketing service. For example, the self-service module 210 mayprovide a user interface by which the merchant may provide a set ofparameters via a web page interface or a server interface for a clientapplication executing on a merchant device. These parameters may definea new promotion to be offered by the promotion and marketing service.The self-service module 210 may interface with and/or embody variousadditional modules, systems, and/or components in order to facilitategeneration and management of promotions offered by merchants using thepromotion and marketing service. These modules, systems, and/orcomponents may include, but are not necessarily limited to the promotiontemplate system 118, promotion pricing system 120, fine print generationsystem 122, and/or point-of-sale management module 124 described above.

The self-service module 210 may also function to manage the merchant'srelationship with the promotion and marketing service 102. For example,the self-service module 210 may associate a user account with aparticular merchant, verify the identity of the merchant, provide theuser account with the proper credentials to allow the user account togenerate promotions on behalf of the merchant, and verify that thevalues provided for the promotion are valid. The self-service module 210may also access historical data associated with promotions offered bythe merchant and other merchants to provide analytics data and suggestedpromotion parameters to the merchant during a self-service operation.Example operations of the self-service module 210 and merchantself-service systems are further described in U.S. Provisional PatentApplication 61/618,338, filed Mar. 30, 2012, U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/833,548, filed Mar. 15, 2013, and U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/749,272, filed Jan. 24, 2013, and U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/038,610 which are each herein incorporated by reference intheir entirety. Example interfaces such as may be provided by theself-service module 210 are described further below with respect toFIGS. 3-4. Some example operations of the self-service module 210 aredescribed further below with respect to FIGS. 5-7.

It should be readily appreciated that the self-service module 210 andthe communications module 206 may, like other components of theapparatus 200, have related and/or overlapping functionality, and thatthese modules may be implemented as a single module or multiple discretemodules.

As will be appreciated, any such computer program instructions and/orother type of code may be loaded onto a computer, processor or otherprogrammable apparatus's circuitry to produce a machine, such that thecomputer, processor other programmable circuitry that execute the codeon the machine create the means for implementing various functions,including those described herein.

It is also noted that all or some of the information presented by theexample displays discussed herein can be based on data that is received,generated and/or maintained by one or more components of apparatus 200.In some embodiments, one or more external systems (such as a remotecloud computing and/or data storage system) may also be leveraged toprovide at least some of the functionality discussed herein.

As described above and as will be appreciated based on this disclosure,embodiments of the present invention may be configured as methods,mobile devices, backend network devices, and the like. Accordingly,embodiments may comprise various means including entirely of hardware orany combination of software and hardware. Furthermore, embodiments maytake the form of a computer program product on at least onenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readableprogram instructions (e.g., computer software) embodied in the storagemedium. Any suitable computer-readable storage medium may be utilizedincluding non-transitory hard disks, CD-ROMs, flash memory, opticalstorage devices, or magnetic storage devices.

FIG. 3 depicts an illustration of a merchant registration interface inaccordance with some embodiments described herein. The merchantregistration interface may be used to gather information about amerchant interacting with the self-service interface. For example, amerchant may access a website hosted by a promotion and marketingservice and be presented with the merchant registration interfacedepicted in FIG. 3 as part of an account creation process with thepromotion and marketing service. The merchant registration interface mayprovide the merchant with the ability to provide information about theirbusiness, such as the merchant's location, contact information, andtypes of goods and services sold. This information may be collected andused as or to derive one or more merchant self-service indicators forthe newly registered merchant. In some embodiments, the merchantregistration interface may be provided to the merchant each time apromotion is to be generated, while in other embodiments the merchantregistration interface may be used to generate a merchant profile duringaccount creation. The self-service interface may also provide themerchant with the ability to modify or delete information provided bythe merchant registration interface after the registration operation iscompleted.

FIGS. 4A-4F depict illustrations of example components of a merchantself-service interface in accordance with some embodiments describedherein. The merchant self-service interface of FIGS. 4A-4F guides amerchant through the process of creating a promotion to be offered bythe promotion and marketing service. The interface illustrations 4A-4Fillustrate the process of generating a promotion, which, in this examplecase, offers a manicure/pedicure service at a discounted price. Theseinterface illustrations will now be discussed in further detail todescribe how the merchant may utilize the self-service interface togenerate the promotion.

FIG. 4A depicts a first interface that allows the merchant to providebasic information about the promotion. The interface includes adrop-down interface control 402, allowing the merchant to select theservice for which the promotion will be provided. In the instantexample, the merchant has selected a “mani-pedi” service. In someembodiments, the drop-down interface may be populated with productsand/or service related to the merchant. For example, the merchantinteracting with the interfaces of FIGS. 4A-4F is a salon, so salonbased services such as manicures, pedicures, massages, facials, and thelike may be offered. The list may be populated with appropriatepromotion types based on the merchant self-service indicators, such asinformation provided by the merchant during a registration operation.

In some embodiments, selection of a product or service may populateother elements of the self-service interface via selection of apromotion template. For example, a promotion template may specify a setof default values for each interface control, which may then be modifiedor adjusted by the user. In some embodiments, the merchant may bepresented with multiple templates from which to choose. Templates maycontrol various aspects of the promotion, including but not limited tothe content of the promotion (e.g., images, text), the terms andconditions of the promotion, and the prices and parameters of thepromotion (e.g., cost to the consumer, value of the product or serviceoffered, fee charged to the merchant). The templates may, for example,be selected and provided via a promotion template system 118 asdescribed above with respect to FIG. 1.

The merchant may be prompted to enter an undiscounted promotion valuevia a promotion value interface control 404. The promotion valueinterface control 404 may be used to determine the base value of thepromotion. Although the instant example depicts an interface control toreceive merchant input, it should be readily appreciated that thepromotion value may be determined by alternative methods as well. Forexample, the promotion value may be determined based on a price listpreviously provided by the merchant, based on an interaction with amerchant point-of-sale system (e.g., determining the price based on howmuch the product or service based on how much the merchant typicallycharges), based on analysis of market conditions relating to the productor service, or the like. Similarly, the promotion value interfacecontrol 404 may be presented to a merchant as a range of values, such asa slider control with a maximum and minimum value determinedprogrammatically by the promotion and marketing service.

The merchant may be prompted to enter a discount value via a discountinterface control 406. The discount value may allow the merchant toadjust the discount offered via the promotion to consumers that purchasethe promotion. As with the promotion value interface control 404, thediscount interface control 406 may be programmatically populated with adiscount value based on various factors associated with the merchant,the product or service, market conditions, and the like.

As the merchant selects interface controls from the merchantself-service interface, the result of the selection may be displayed tothe merchant via a promotion preview 408. The promotion preview mayprovide a representation of how the promotion will appear when hosted bythe promotion and marketing service. As the merchant makes selectionsvia the merchant self-service interface, the promotion preview mayautomatically update to reflect the selections.

FIG. 4B depicts a promotion image selection interface. The promotionimage selection interface may allow a merchant to select visual content,such as a particular image, to be displayed with the newly generatedpromotion when hosted by the promotion and marketing service. A selectedpromotion image 410 may display the currently selected image forassociation with the promotion. The merchant may be presented with animage selection control 412 allowing for selection of alternativeimages. For example, as the merchant selects different buttons presentedvia the image selection control 412, the selected promotion image 410may change to reflect the selection. In some embodiments, the imagesavailable to selection by the merchant are provided by an editorialcontent system 123 as described above with respect to FIG. 1. In someembodiments, the merchant may also be provided with an interface controlto allow the merchant to upload an image for association with thepromotion.

FIG. 4C depicts a fine print selection interface. The fine printselection interface may allow the merchant to select terms andconditions to be associated with the promotion being generated via theself-service process. The fine print selection interface may include afine print selection control 414 to allow the merchant to selectparticular terms and conditions, such as a quantity per consumer, aquantity per visit, whether notice is required for cancellation, or thelike. The fine print selection control 414 may be presented as a seriesof check boxes or radio buttons, allowing the merchant to configure theterms and conditions for the promotion. As with other aspects of themerchant self-service interface, certain terms and conditions may bepre-selected or unselected for the particular promotion based on variousmerchant self-service indicators. In some embodiments, the fine printselection interface is provided in conjunction with the fine printgeneration system 122 as described above with respect to FIG. 1.

FIG. 4D depicts a location selection interface. The location selectioninterface may allow a merchant to associate a promotion with aparticular location, such as enabling the promotion for a particularstore location, or to market the promotion to consumers in a particulararea. The location selection interface may include a location selectioncontrol 416 that allows the merchant to input a particular address(e.g., the location of the merchant's storefront or a particularstorefront to be associated with the promotion), or a particulargeographical area, such as a radius around a certain location (e.g.,within a certain distance of a particular zip code). This locationinformation may be used to market the promotion to particular consumers.In some embodiments, the location information is automatically populatedbased on merchant self-service indicators. For example, the location themerchant specifies during registration may be used as a defaultlocation.

FIG. 4E depicts a confirmation interface. The confirmation interface mayallow the merchant to confirm the details of the promotion and publishthe promotion to the promotion and marketing service to allow consumersto purchase the promotion. The confirmation interface may include anagreement memorializing the aspects of the promotion selected by themerchant during the merchant self-service process. For example, the goodor service, quantity, price, and fee may be included in the agreement.The agreement may also include various terms and conditions for doingbusiness with the promotion and marketing service. These terms andconditions may provide rules governing the relationship between themerchant and the promotion and marketing service. The confirmationinterface may include a confirmation control 418 allowing the merchantto indicate that the merchant agrees with the terms and conditions forpublishing the promotion. In some embodiments, selection of theconfirmation control 418 may cause publication of the promotion toconsumers. In some other embodiments, selection of the confirmationcontrol 418 may send the promotion to an approval system for approval.The approval system may be curated by one or more administrators, or theapproval system may be automated for programmatic approval of thepromotion. For example, an approval system may automatically approvepromotions that meet certain parameters for price, quality, or the likeas determined by the approval system.

FIG. 4F depicts a completed promotion interface. The completed promotioninterface may provide the merchant with a view of their completedpromotion 420 for review. In some embodiments, the completed promotioninterface may display the completed promotion 420 as it is visible toconsumers via the promotion and marketing service. In some embodiments,the completed promotion interface may include or more interface controlsallowing the merchant to manage the completed promotion 420, such asviewing analytics associated with the promotion, removing the completedpromotion 420 from the promotion and marketing service, editing thecompleted promotion 420 (e.g., fixing typographical errors or changingthe image associated with the promotion), or the like.

FIGS. 5-7 show example methods, namely processes 500, 600, and 700 thatmay be executed by one or more machines (some examples of which arediscussed in connection with FIGS. 1 and 2), in accordance with someembodiments discussed herein. These processes may be performed bycomputing devices as known in the art and described above with respectto FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 5 depicts an example process 500 for providing merchantself-service. The process 500, when completed, allows a merchant toprovide information to a promotion and marketing service to enable thatpromotion and marketing service to offer one or more promotions toconsumers that are redeemable with the merchant for goods and services.The process 500 may provide merchants with the ability to generate oneor more such promotions without the need for direct intervention withemployees of the promotion and marketing service.

At action 502, the process 500 begins, such as upon receiving anindication from a merchant to begin the self-service process. Theprocess 500 proceeds to action 504, wherein the merchant is identified.The merchant may be identified based on user account credentials, suchas by providing a login name and password associated with a particularmerchant. In some embodiments, such as where the merchant is newlyregistering with the promotion and marketing service and has not yetestablished account credentials, identification of the merchant may beperformed by the merchant providing contact information, such as themerchant's name, address, or phone number. Identification of themerchant may provide the promotion and marketing service with merchantself-service indicators that are employed to inform the self-serviceprocess. For example, the merchant type, the merchant location,historical promotion sales for the merchant, and other merchantself-service indicators may be used to assist with selection ofpromotion templates, promotion content, promotion pricing, and the like.In some embodiments, the promotion and marketing service mayindependently determine some or all of the merchant identificationinformation, such as by accessing a browser cookie associated with theuser's browsing session or by identifying the internet protocol addressused by the user.

At action 506, the process 500 may optionally validate the identity ofthe merchant. Validation of the merchant identity may occur bycontacting the merchant via a known contact method for the merchant(e.g., a phone number or e-mail address stored in an external merchantinformation database that is confirmed to be correct for the merchantwith whom the user purports to be associated). Validation of theidentity of the merchant in this manner may ensure that the merchantinteracting with the self-service system is an authorized representativeof the merchant for which the promotion is generated.

At action 508, an interface may be provided to the merchant to allow themerchant to generate a new promotion. For example, the merchant mayselect from a menu option indicating the merchant wishes to generate anew promotion, and the promotion generation interface may be provided tothe merchant in response to selection of the menu option. The promotiongeneration interface may allow the merchant to input a promotion type(e.g., a type of good or service which the merchant wishes to promote).In some embodiments, the merchant may be provided with a list ofpossible promotion types based on merchant self-service indicators, suchas the type of merchant (e.g., food promotions for a restaurant, massagepromotions for a spa, etc.).

At action 510, promotion type information is received. The promotiontype information may be based on a menu selection performed by themerchant, or a default promotion type may be selected for the merchantbased on certain merchant self-service indicators. In some embodiments,the merchant may be provided with the ability to select an alternatepromotion type instead of the default promotion type.

At action 512, content and parameters may be determined for thepromotion to be generated by the self-service interface. As describedabove, various modules and systems may be employed to assist themerchant with selection of the various elements of the promotion,including but not limited to narrative content (e.g., images and text tobe displayed to a consumer), promotion parameters (e.g., how thepromotion will be redeemed, the redemption value, the type of goods andservices offered in exchange for the promotion, and the like), promotionpricing terms (e.g., the fee charged to the merchant by the promotionand marketing service), and/or the terms and conditions of the promotion(e.g., the “fine print”). Determination of the content and parametersfor the promotion may also entail providing the merchant with analyticdata for past promotions and respected return-on-investment calculationsto assist the merchant with generating the promotion.

Selection of the content and parameters for the promotion may includethe use of a promotion template, as described above. For example, ataction 514 the process 500 may identify several promotion templates forpromotion content that have previously been successful for promotions ofthe same type, and allow the merchant to choose from among theidentified promotion templates at action 516. Additionally oralternatively, the merchant may select a blank template to input theirown content, or the merchant may be provided with the ability to editone or more proposed templates. At action 518, the merchant may select atemplate and at action 520, the template may be populated with valuesfor insertion into the promotion by the merchant. In some embodiments,the template may be automatically populated with information related tothe merchant, such as the merchant name, contact information, or productname. In some embodiments, the merchant may be presented with multiplecontent offerings for selection. For example, the merchant may beprovided with a number of images determined based on the promotion type,and the merchant may select one of the images to be displayed alongsideof the promotion.

Determination of the content and parameters for the new promotion mayalso include determining pricing and quantity parameters for thepromotion, such as the fee to be charged to the merchant by thepromotion and marketing service. At action 522, the process 500 maydetermine promotion parameters (e.g., quantity or price terms) or rangeof parameters for the promotion that will be acceptable to both themerchant and the promotion and marketing service. The merchant may bepresented with the determined parameters at action 524. For example, themerchant may be presented with a selection of pricing parameters thatensure a minimum return-on-investment for the merchant while alsomaximizing revenue for the promotion and marketing service. In someembodiments, the merchant may be presented with one or more sliders thatare dependent upon one another, such that as one price parameter isadjusted by the merchant, other parameters move in concert. For example,the promotion and marketing service may charge a smaller fee perpromotion sold if the merchant increases the volume of promotions to beoffered. As another example, as the merchant increases the price foreach promotion, the process 500 may estimate that fewer promotions willbe sold, lowering the expected revenue for the promotion and marketingservice. As such, the fee charged per promotion may increase to ensurepositive revenue for the promotion and marketing service in response toan increase in the purchase price of the promotion by the merchant. Ataction 526, the merchant's price and quantity parameter selections maybe received.

Determination of the content and parameters for the new promotion mayalso include selection of certain terms and conditions to be associatedwith the new promotion. For example, at action 528, the process 500 maydetermine a set or plurality of sets of terms and conditions forconsideration by the merchant. These determined terms and conditions maybe identified based on various merchant self-service indicators, such asthe merchant's past promotions, the type of promotion, the location ofthe merchant, or the like. At action 530, these terms and conditions maybe provided to the merchant for selection and/or editing. At action 532,the merchant's selections for the terms and conditions may be receivedand incorporated into the new promotion.

It should be readily appreciated that the above examples merely reflectexamples of the processes that may be employed to determine thepromotion content and parameters described at action 512. Determining ofthe promotion content and parameters may also be performed using variousadditional analytic and historical data. In some embodiments, themethods described herein may be utilized in concert with one another(e.g., analyzing the impact of fine print selections on the optimalprice parameters for the promotion). Determination of the promotioncontent and parameters may also include presenting the merchant withanalytic data for the merchant's past promotions and/or similarpromotions offered by other merchants, thus assisting the merchant withmaking an informed decision when generating the promotion.

At action 534, the merchant may be presented with the opportunity toconfirm the details of the promotion. As described above, the merchantmay be presented with a set of default content and parameters for thepromotion, which may be edited during the process described with respectto action 512. The merchant may review the details of the promotion andsubmit the promotion for approval by the promotion and marketingservice.

At action 536, the newly created promotion may be approved by thepromotion and marketing service. Approval of the promotion may includemanual or automatic verification that the content of the promotion issuitable for use with the promotion and marketing service. For example,a representative of the promotion and marketing service may performquality control of newly generated promotions to ensure that thepromotions are valid (e.g., associated with a valid merchant) and thatthe promotions meet quality standards (e.g., editing for spelling errorsand typographical errors in promotion text) and market standards (e.g.,the promotion offers at least a minimum discount to make the promotionworth the time of the consumer to purchase). In some embodiments,approval may be performed in an automated manner. For example, theprocess 500 may determine that the newly generated promotion fallswithin a certain range of values that have been approved in the past forthe same or similar promotions.

At action 538, upon approval of the promotion, the promotion may bepublished via the promotion and marketing service. Publication of thepromotion may include providing the promotion for purchase to consumers,such as via an e-commerce interface (e.g., a web page or application)offered by the promotion and marketing service. The process ends ataction 540.

FIG. 6 shows process 600, which is an example of an algorithm that maybe used to automatically generate programmatically proposed promotioncontent and parameters based on merchant self-service indicators. Theprocess 600 may be performed in response to an initial merchantregistration, such as described above. For example, upon initialregistration, the process 600 may generate a promotion offer frommerchant self-service indicators identified or otherwise derived usingmerchant identification information provided during the registrationprocess. The actions of the process 600 describe various merchantself-service indicators such as merchant category, geographic area,customer purchase histories, and the like. Although several specificmerchant self-service indicators are enumerated, this should not beunderstood to be an exhaustive list, and various other merchantself-service indicators or combinations of merchant self-serviceindicators may also be employed to identify suggested promotions formerchants during the initial registration process. The process 600begins at action 602. The process 600 describes how these merchantself-service indicators may be used to inform generation of the newpromotion. For example, these self-service indicators may be used inselection of content and parameters for a particular promotion asdescribed with respect to action 512 of FIG. 5, above.

At 604, the process may analyze promotion parameters associated withother merchants in the merchant's category. For example, the promotionand marketing service can promote a plurality of merchants that arecategorized together by the promotion and marketing service. Forexample, the promotion and marketing service may offer promotions and/orotherwise promote businesses that provide spa treatments. Each of thesebusinesses can be categorized by the promotion and marketing service asa spa. As another example, businesses that serve food and drink afterpayment is received can be categorized as a “Deli/Coffee Shop” by thepromotion and marketing service. In some embodiments, there may bebroader categories and/or sub-categories. For example, a “Spa” categorymay include a subcategory for a “Facial Specialist,” and itself may be asubcategory for the broader “Health and Beauty” category. As anotherexample, a “Deli/Coffee Shop” category may be a subcategory of a“Restaurants” category, which may itself be a subcategory of a “Food andDrink” category. Promotion parameters for each category/subcategory ofmerchants can be assigned a value related to how successful orunsuccessful they are (e.g., how well they sell and how much profit theymake the respective merchant), and can be used in determining proposedparameters for the merchant benefiting from process 600. In this manner,promotion parameters employed by other merchants in the same category asthe newly registered merchant may be used to generate an initialpromotion for the newly registered merchant.

At 606, the processor can be configured to analyze promotion parametersassociated with other merchants in the merchant's geographic area. Forexample, certain neighborhoods may attract people willing to spend moremoney than other neighborhoods. The promotion and marketing service canbe configured to take into consideration the merchant's neighborhoodwhen determining proposed promotion parameters. Additional examples ofproviding real-time promotion offers within a merchant's vicinity arediscussed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0313840, filedMar. 17, 2011, which is herein incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

At 608, the processor can be configured to analyze non-promotionanalytics associated with the merchant. For example, the merchant'spoint-of-sale device can be configured to report some or all of thesales information (e.g., dollar amount received, time of day,profitability, etc.) to the promotion and marketing service, regardlessof whether the sales information is related to a promotion. As anotherexample, data stored in the merchant database such as the particularproducts and services offered by the merchant or the price point of saidproducts and services might be examined to assist with generation of apromotion offer. For example, a hair salon charging $13 for a haircutand style might benefit from different promotion offers than a hairsalon charging $150 for a haircut and style, or a 5-star hotel mightbenefit from different promotion offer structures than a 1 star motel.The non-promotion analytics can then be analyzed by the promotion andmarketing service to determine, for example, how busy the merchant iscurrently, when the merchant's busiest/slowest times are historically,when the merchant's most/least profitable times are historically, and/orany other sales-related information. The initial registration processmay further include providing access to the merchant's point-of-sale orother relevant information to the promotion and marketing service, suchthat such data is made available to the promotion and marketing servicefor promotion generation. Additionally or alternatively, the promotionand marketing service may derive such non-promotion analytic data fromvarious websites (e.g., a merchant website), services (e.g., reviewsites or marketing databases), and other information not provideddirectly by the merchant, but otherwise accessible by the merchantsystem.

At 610, the processor can be configured to analyze the merchant'savailable product inventory or service availability (e.g., how many opentables at a restaurant, how many open appointments, etc.). Similarly,the processor can be configured to analyze the merchant's calendarand/or any other type of scheduler that is used to help the merchantkeep track of inventory and/or service availability and, thus, determinewhen a merchant may be more likely to benefit from a promotion beingoffered. For example, the merchant may incorporate a scheduling systemsuch as a system as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/631,313 filed Sep. 28, 2012, which is herein incorporated byreference in its entirety.

At 612, consumer transactions that are reported to the promotion andmarketing service can also be weighed in the algorithm of process 600for generating proposed promotion parameters. For example, the promotionand marketing service can be configured to determine for which pricesand on what types of products consumers are purchasing in a geographicarea of the merchant (e.g., within one block, one mile, five miles, tenmiles, and/or any other selected distance from the merchant). As such,in response to the promotion and marketing service determining thatconsumers are purchasing umbrellas at a higher rate than historicalnorms (i.e., suggesting that it may be raining within a target region),discounts on taxicabs (which may encounter higher demand during rainperiods) can be reduced or paused programmatically in response to acentral promotion and marketing service determining a promotion offershould be paused in the absence of receiving a merchant request to doso. As another example, in response to determining that consumers arepurchasing golf clubs in a club house of a local golf club, promotionparameters may be generated for a practice round at the golf clubwhereby such newly purchased clubs may be used.

At 614, proposed promotion parameters and content can be generated basedon the results of the analyses of 604-612. In some embodiments,additional and/or different analyses may be included in process 600. Forexample, the merchant may be provided with particular promotion offerstargeted for customers with certain characteristics. As such, promotionoffers might be generated that are targeted to new customers (e.g.,customers who do not currently do business with the merchant), existingcustomers, customers in a certain proximity to the merchant's place ofbusiness, customers already in the physical store location, or the like.The merchant may be presented with a list of such offers tailored tothese different customer types, such that the merchant may select, edit,and/or confirm a promotion offer to attract a certain customerdemographic. Further, some embodiments can skip to 614 after performingfewer steps and/or after performing any of 604-612. As such, the process600 can generate proposed promotion parameters based on variousanalytics related to the merchant's sales information, other merchant'ssales information and/or consumer's purchasing information.

The process 600 may then proceed to action 616 and display the proposedpromotion parameters for the merchant's approval. For example, a displaymay be presented at 616 when requested. The process 600 ends at 618.

FIG. 7 shows a process 700, which is an example of an algorithm that maybe used to monitor promotion analytics that can be subsequentlyprocessed to provide new promotion offers based on merchant self-serviceindicators (e.g., in accordance with process 600) and/or presented in adisplay. The process 700 starts at 702.

At 704, a promotion is offered. For example, the promotion and marketingservice publishes an advertisement on a website, sends an email, pushesa notification and/or otherwise notifies one or more potential consumersthat a promotion is being offered.

At 706, the promotion and marketing service and/or the merchant systemcan be configured to monitor sales and/or other analytics dataassociated with the promotion offer. For example, at 706, the promotionand marketing service can be configured to keep track how manypromotions have sold, the promotion value, the discount value, howquickly the promotions sold, where the promotions are sold, what otherpromotions were bought by the same or similar consumers, and/or anyother data that may be analyzed by, e.g., process 600.

At 708, merchant self-service indicators are determined for associationwith the promotion offer. For example, the merchant that generated thepromotion may be associated with various merchant self-serviceindicators, and these indicators may be extracted and associated withthe promotion offer. As an example, the type of merchant, the size ofthe merchant, and the location of the merchant may be associated withthe promotion so that other merchants of a similar respective type,size, and location may analyze the promotion and associated promotionanalytics to generate promotion parameters for their own use.

At action 710, the promotion offer is associated with the identifiedmerchant self-service indicators. This association may be tracked in apromotional database, such as a database that stores the promotionoffers, or in a merchant database, such as a database that storesinformation about particular merchants. In some embodiments, a promotionand marketing service operates to analyze and link data in a promotionaldatabase and a merchant database to identify correlations and otheranalytics for the purpose of generating parameters for promotion offers.The process 700 ends at action 712 after associating the particularpromotion offer with the particular merchant self-service indicators ofthe merchant for which the promotion was offered.

Embodiments of the present invention have been described above withreference to block diagrams and flowchart illustrations of methods,apparatuses, systems and computer program products. It will beunderstood that each block of the circuit diagrams and processflowcharts, and combinations of blocks in the circuit diagrams andprocess flowcharts, respectively, can be implemented by various meansincluding computer program instructions. These computer programinstructions may be loaded onto a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, suchas the processor 202, as discussed above with reference to FIG. 2, toproduce a machine, such that the computer program product includes theinstructions which execute on the computer or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus create a means for implementing the functionsspecified in the flowchart block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable storage device (e.g., the memory 204) that can directa computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to functionin a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in thecomputer-readable storage device produce an article of manufactureincluding computer-readable instructions for implementing the functiondiscussed herein. The computer program instructions may also be loadedonto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or otherprogrammable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process suchthat the instructions that execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide steps for implementing the functions discussed herein.

Accordingly, blocks of the block diagrams and flowchart illustrationssupport combinations of means for performing the specified functions,combinations of steps for performing the specified functions and programinstruction means for performing the specified functions. It will alsobe understood that each block of the circuit diagrams and processflowcharts, and combinations of blocks in the circuit diagrams andprocess flowcharts, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedcomputer systems that perform the specified functions or steps, orcombinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forthherein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which theseembodiments of the invention pertain having the benefit of the teachingspresented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings.Therefore, it is to be understood that the embodiments of the inventionare not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and thatmodifications and other embodiments are intended to be included withinthe scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employedherein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and notfor purposes of limitation.

1.-45. (canceled)
 46. A method for providing a merchant interfacecomprising: providing an interface to a merchant, the interfaceproviding an interface control that allows the merchant to generate apromotion; receiving an indication via the interface of a promotiontype, wherein the promotion type defines at least one of a product or aservice provided by the merchant; determining a merchant location,historical promotion sales for the merchant, and one or more merchantself-service indicators, wherein the self-service indicators comprise atleast a merchant category, a geographic area, and customer purchasehistories; selecting a promotion template based on the promotion type,merchant location, historical promotion sales for the merchant, and theone or more merchant self-service indicators, wherein the promotiontemplate is configured to control content of the promotion, the contentcomprising images and text, a price of the promotion, and one or moreparameters of the promotion, the one or more parameters comprising costto the consumer, value of the product or service offered, and feecharged to the merchant; presenting the merchant with the promotiontemplate associated with the promotion type, wherein the promotiontemplate defines at least one promotion parameter for the promotion,wherein the one or more parameters of the promotion are dependent uponone another, wherein as a price parameter is adjusted within theinterface, one or more other parameters are adjusted accordingly withinthe interface; generating the promotion, the promotion comprising theadjusted parameters; and publishing the promotion via a promotion andmarketing service.
 47. The method of claim 46, further comprisingreceiving a modification of the at least one promotion parameter definedby the promotion template via the interface.
 48. The method of claim 46,wherein the promotion template is selected by the merchant from aplurality of promotion templates.
 49. The method of claim 46, furthercomprising: receiving merchant identification information; verifyingthat a user interacting with the interface is a representative of aparticular merchant using the merchant identification information; andgenerating the promotion only in response to verifying that the user isan authorized representative of the merchant.
 50. The method of claim46, further comprising: receiving transaction data from a point-of-salesystem related to one or more transactions conducted by the merchant;and wherein indication of the promotion type is determined using atleast the transaction data.
 51. The method of claim 46, furthercomprising: presenting the promotion for approval; and only publishingthe promotion upon receiving confirmation of the approval of thepromotion.
 52. The method of claim 51, wherein the promotion ispresented for approval to an automated approval system, and wherein theautomated approval system determines whether the promotion is approvedby a method comprising: determining that the at least one promotionparameter falls within an approved range of values defined for the atleast one promotion parameter; and in response to determining that theat least one promotion parameter falls within the approved range ofvalues for the at least one promotion parameter, approving the promotionfor publication.
 53. An apparatus for providing a merchant self-serviceinterface, the apparatus comprising at least one processor coupled to amemory, the memory comprising computer executable instructions that,when executed by the processor, configure the apparatus to: provide aninterface to a merchant, the interface providing an interface controlthat allows the merchant to generate a promotion; receive an indicationvia the interface of a promotion type, wherein the promotion typedefines at least one of a product or a service provided by the merchant;determine a merchant location, historical promotion sales for themerchant, and one or more merchant self-service indicators, wherein theself-service indicators comprise at least a merchant category, ageographic area, and customer purchase histories; select a promotiontemplate based on the promotion type, merchant location, historicalpromotion sales for the merchant, and the one or more merchantself-service indicators, wherein the promotion template is configured tocontrol content of the promotion, the content comprising images andtext, a price of the promotion, and one or more parameters of thepromotion, the one or more parameters comprising cost to the consumer,value of the product or service offered, and fee charged to themerchant; present the merchant with the promotion template associatedwith the promotion type, wherein the promotion template defines at leastone promotion parameter for the promotion, wherein the one or moreparameters of the promotion are dependent upon one another, wherein as aprice parameter is adjusted within the interface, one or more otherparameters are adjusted accordingly within the interface; generate thepromotion, the promotion comprising the adjusted parameters; and publishthe promotion via a promotion and marketing service.
 54. The apparatusof claim 53, further configured to receive a modification of the atleast one promotion parameter defined by the promotion template via theinterface.
 55. The apparatus of claim 53, wherein the promotion templateis selected by the merchant from a plurality of promotion templates. 56.The apparatus of claim 53, further configured to: receive merchantidentification information; verify that a user interacting with theinterface is a representative of a particular merchant using themerchant identification information; and generate the promotion only inresponse to verifying that the user is an authorized representative ofthe merchant.
 57. The apparatus of claim 53, further configured to:receive transaction data from a point-of-sale system related to one ormore transactions conducted by the merchant; and wherein indication ofthe promotion type is determined using at least the transaction data.58. The apparatus of claim 53, further configured to: present thepromotion for approval; and only publish the promotion upon receivingconfirmation of the approval of the promotion.
 59. The apparatus ofclaim 59, wherein the apparatus presents the promotion for approval toan automated approval system, and wherein the automated approval systemis configured to: determine that the at least one promotion parameterfalls within an approved range of values defined for the at least onepromotion parameter; and in response to determining that the at leastone promotion parameter falls within the approved range of values forthe at least one promotion parameter, approve the promotion forpublication.
 60. A non-transitory computer readable storage mediumcomprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, configurethe processor to: provide an interface to a merchant, the interfaceproviding an interface control that allows the merchant to generate apromotion; receive an indication via the interface of a promotion type,wherein the promotion type defines at least one of a product or aservice provided by the merchant; determine a merchant location,historical promotion sales for the merchant, and one or more merchantself-service indicators, wherein the self-service indicators comprise atleast a merchant category, a geographic area, and customer purchasehistories; select a promotion template based on the promotion type,merchant location, historical promotion sales for the merchant, and theone or more merchant self-service indicators, wherein the promotiontemplate is configured to control content of the promotion, the contentcomprising images and text, a price of the promotion, and one or moreparameters of the promotion, the one or more parameters comprising costto the consumer, value of the product or service offered, and feecharged to the merchant; present the merchant with the promotiontemplate associated with the promotion type, wherein the promotiontemplate defines at least one promotion parameter for the promotion,wherein the one or more parameters of the promotion are dependent uponone another, wherein as a price parameter is adjusted within theinterface, one or more other parameters are adjusted accordingly withinthe interface; generate the promotion, the promotion comprising theadjusted parameters; and publish the promotion via a promotion andmarketing service.
 61. The computer readable storage medium of claim 60,further comprising instructions that configure the processor to receivea modification of the at least one promotion parameter defined by thepromotion template via the interface.
 62. The computer readable storagemedium of claim 60, wherein the promotion template is selected by themerchant from a plurality of promotion templates.
 63. The computerreadable storage medium of claim 60, further comprising instructionsthat configure the processor to: receive merchant identificationinformation; verify that a user interacting with the interface is arepresentative of a particular merchant using the merchantidentification information; and generate the promotion only in responseto verifying that the user is an authorized representative of themerchant.
 64. The computer readable storage medium of claim 60, furthercomprising instructions that configure the processor to: receivetransaction data from a point-of-sale system related to one or moretransactions conducted by the merchant; and wherein indication of thepromotion type is determined using at least the transaction data. 65.The computer readable storage medium of claim 60, further comprisinginstructions that configure the processor to: present the promotion forapproval; and only publish the promotion upon receiving confirmation ofthe approval of the promotion.
 66. The computer readable storage mediumof claim 65, wherein the processor is configured to present thepromotion for approval to an automated approval system, and wherein theautomated approval system is configured to: determine that the at leastone promotion parameter falls within an approved range of values definedfor the at least one promotion parameter; and in response to determiningthat the at least one promotion parameter falls within the approvedrange of values for the at least one promotion parameter, approve thepromotion for publication.